All Rise...

Editor's Note

The Charge

"Miss Clara, you slam the door at a man's face before he even knocks on
it."—Ben Quick

Opening Statement

I don't know if The Long, Hot Summer is considered a classic. It
features Oscar winners Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, and Orson Welles. The
backbone of the plot is a series of short stories by Faulkner, one of America's
premiere writers. The dialogue, cinematography, and direction give the whole
affair a sophisticated theatrical feel. I don't know if The Long, Hot
Summer is considered a classic, but since it looks like one, acts like one,
and feels like one, I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Facts of the Case

Ben Quick (Paul Newman) is a marked man with a reputation for barn burning.
He moves from one town to the next trying to get by. He hops off a barge near
the bank of the Mississippi River and hitches a ride from two young ladies on
their way to town.

The town is Frenchman's Bend, featuring Varner's Bank, Varner's Restaurant,
Varner's General Store, and Varner Prison. The ladies are Clara Varner (Joanne
Woodward) and Eula Varner (Lee Remick), daughter and daughter-in-law of town
patriarch Will Varner (Orson Welles). The atmosphere is none too welcoming, but
Ben decides to stake out a living in Frenchman's Bend. He visits the Varner
mansion and takes over a tenement farm offered by Will's son Jody (Anthony
Franciosa).

When Will Varner returns from a protracted hospital stay, he is none too
pleased to discover a barn burner in his town. After verbally abusing his son
and daughter and ogling his nubile daughter-in-law, Will drives out to the farm
to have a man-to-man with Ben Quick. Will decides that Ben is a potential enemy,
but also a possible asset. He offers Ben a more distinguished position in the
Varner monopoly.

Ben proves himself a ruthless businessman, and Will promotes him to Jody's
position at the general store. This favoritism enrages Jody and nettles Clara.
Is her cool attitude towards Ben disdain or carefully controlled desire? More
importantly, will escalating tension within Frenchman's Bend render the point
moot?

The Evidence

It doesn't take long to get into The Long, Hot Summer. The film opens
with a burning barn and a cool Newman. The banter between Ben and the Varner
ladies is witty, edgy, and laced with subtle threat. Characters, agendas, and
conflicts are immediately established.

It is easy to establish conflict, another matter entirely to maintain
tension. The Long, Hot Summer moves at a deceptively languid pace, but
never feels slow. Sharply provocative dialogue and the innuendo of danger
enhance every scene.

Sexual innuendo is rampant as well, with subtle and unsubtle come-ons,
harassment, and lust. It is amazing how much heat the film generates without
nudity or sexual contact. Eula Varner, portrayed by Lee Remick, is red hot and
sinfully lusty. She is no good for them, yet entices men with her flippant
familiarity. On the flip side of the coin is Joanne Woodward's Clara: collected
and severe but keenly aware of her own yearnings. When confronted with the two,
Ben cannot resist the challenge of seducing Clara.

Characters talk and talk some more, but the conversations are the highlights
of The Long, Hot Summer. Of particular note is Welles' careless verbal
abuse of everyone around him. He is a coarse bull of a man with no regard for
subtlety or emotion. Equally juicy are Woodward and Newman's linguistic barbs,
penetrating to the heart of their characters' emotions. At one point, the gloves
come off and they have it out, causing the audience to cringe within their
seats. Their chemistry was undoubtedly enhanced by their off screen attraction
for each other, an attraction powerful enough to support decades of married
bliss.

The discourse would be nothing without powerful characters. Though The
Long, Hot Summer invokes certain stereotypes to get points across, the
characters feel authentic. You can sense vitality beyond the screen, as though
you were peeking into a brief window of their lives. It is easy to imagine
yourself a guest lounging on the Varner porch, watching your eccentric neighbors
provoke and harass each other.

Fox has done this fine film justice with the DVD treatment. The Long, Hot
Summer is 45 years old and was an early work of color cinematography. As
such, the colors and clarity of the print are impressive. There were occasional
nicks and scratches in the film, but nothing worse than some current film
transfers possess. There are flaws in the picture, of course. The color
saturation is uneven from scene to scene, as are the black levels. Certain
outdoor scenes are overcast. The aspect ratio periodically distorts,
particularly in close-ups, causing heads to appear squashed like footballs. Film
grain is sometimes prominent. What does all this amount to? Not much. The
Long, Hot Summer was clearly handled with expertise in 1958, and the picture
has been given a boost through expert remastering. It looks dated but very
clean.

The sound is surprisingly well integrated. The Foley effects are perfectly
matched to the action onscreen, and seemed quite modern. The soundtrack is an
understated studio effort, but fits the picture. Music and dialogue are
sometimes harsh or unclear, particularly Orson Welles' lines. One can't help but
suspect Orson as the primary culprit.

The extras package isn't overwhelming, but does shed light on the
situational factors that surrounded the production. Both of the main extras are
informative, but I give the edge to AMC Backstory. This slickly produced
entertainment piece was direct and covered a lot of ground. Newman Cinema rounds
out the extras. What is Newman Cinema? A bunch of trailers for classic Paul
Newman movies.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

As I wrote in the Opening Statement, I don't know if The Long, Hot
Summer is a classic. There must be some problems with it for there to be any
doubt.

Some claim that Orson Welles' career was on the decline when this picture
was made. He was a bear to work with, his lines are incomprehensible, and his
makeup keeps running and splotching in the heat. In short, he is somewhat
distasteful to watch. Orson had a persona that affected a lot of people, critics
included. I found his performance riveting and energetic, as remorseless as the
man himself was claimed to be. But some of the mystique is gone when you see his
enormous bulk sweating in discomfort.

Clara was so restrained and severe that I thought Ben was harassing her or
at best humoring her presence. It wasn't until the middle of the picture that I
realized he truly had feelings for her. I mistook the atmosphere of tension and
menace to mean dehumanized relationships. But postmodern interpretations don't
apply to this piece, which often operates at face value.

The biggest complaint I have is the ending, which has been roundly
criticized. The first three fourths of the film builds escalating tension that
threatens to plow right through the screen into your living room. Certain
characters are so conflicted and unredeemable that you steel yourself for brutal
violence the entire time. There is a point around the climax where motivations,
events, and personalities radically shift into happy-make-believe land. Without
giving too much away, the ending is not faithful to the characterizations and
violates the cause-effect contract. It was a cop out; an unconvincingly
shoehorned happy ending.

Closing Statement

Despite some fumbles, The Long, Hot Summer is an involving and
multi-layered drama. It has been compared to a Tennessee Williams play. I can
see the correlation, but Faulkner's darkness and depravity are evident as well.
Newman, Woodward, and Welles form a daunting thicket of theatrical prowess,
entangling us with scrappy sparks. If you want invigorating dialogue,
understated antics, and motivationally-based drama, The Long, Hot Summer
is for you. It's classic appeal grants rewatchability, making this a good
candidate for purchase.

The Verdict

Upon due reflection, this court sees fit to release all parties. This summer
has been long enough and hot enough to adequately punish any minor misdeeds. His
honor would like to retain Eula Varner for further questioning. Case
dismissed!